Abstract:
Brucellosis remains an animal and public health concern in South Africa, given the intensity
and widespread distribution of outbreaks in cattle. We conducted a cross-sectional survey
among cattle keepers in the Whittlesea community of the Eastern Cape Province of South
Africa, which utilises communal grazing. Individual cattle keepers (N = 227) who attended
prearranged meetings in selected villages were interviewed using a structured questionnaire
to assess their knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) regarding bovine brucellosis.
We compared KAP scores between previous brucellosis-affected villages and unaffected
villages. We compared attitude and practices scores between those who had heard of
brucellosis and those who had not and between those above the 75th percentile knowledge
score and those below. The KAP for the study population were described using frequency
tables. Scores of different groups were compared using the Welch t-test or the Wilcoxon
rank-sum test. Knowledge scores of those who had heard of brucellosis (60%) showed a
bimodal distribution with a 0/18 primary peak and 5–6/18 secondary peak. Attitude scores
showed a median of 7/14 (interquartile range [IQR] 6–9), with 98% requesting more
information on brucellosis. Practices scores showed a median of 6/18 (IQR 3–8), with highrisk
practices identified that could facilitate brucellosis transmission. There were significant
differences in attitude and practices scores between the groups above and below the 75th
percentile knowledge score. The community showed poor knowledge, poor to average
practices and average to good attitude. Identified high-risk practices highlight the risk
of potential introduction and transmission of brucellosis between cattle and zoonotic
transmission to humans.
